My Kona is stable when planing. I assume it is something with your technique.

The only time the board ejected me was when I managed to plane with the daggerboard down. The board turned on it's side and shoot me up!

You might be experiencing tailwalking when you are going very fast. For me it has to be on very flat water, with a 7.5, maybe 25kts gusts and the 46 cm fin. You are then overfinned and the board starts to swerve since you don't put enough weight to counteract the fin lift. If you then open the sail, the mast pressure is reduced and the nose will go up. The Kona step tail always prevented me from falling back when I did that mistake. I never fell from this, but I can't get out of it without loosing the plane. Now, when if I feel this coming, I'll turn upwind before it starts to swerve around.

the first container of kona ones came with a 41 cm fin. i thought it was the perfect one for it. steve g. thought it was small for light winds. i had no such issue. would go as small as 32 cm for really high winds.

In 20mph+ wind I can only use the front foot strap on Kona One. The rear foot strap is difficult to reach. I'd rig it with a 5.0-6.0 Retro or similar. According to James Douglas' calculator, the fin ought to be between 34-37cm. You say I can use less. I use the stock 46cm and get overfinned, hydroplane out of control, etc.

Your observations are right on about standing too far back on this board in high wind conditions. Someone with a physics background could describe the workings of forces on such a long board.

Look forward to getting the pricing back from Steve Gottlieb sometime this month on Kona Carbon.

I recommend you get from Steve the 40 Kona fin. It is class legal and a good step from the 46.

In higher winds with a 6.0 and a 46, the footstrap are hard to use because the board wants to turn upwind. You feel better in front of the straps, at least it goes straight. You need the smaller fin. But still, in 20kts, with my 6.0 and 40, the back foot wants to stay in front of the straps. Since I don't have a smaller fin, there are still 3 solutions. 1-Higher boom 2-Mast base back 3-Both straps forward, A mixture of the 3 seems to work.

Finally, I have a background in physics but it is long to explain. You can start with Jim Drake explanation that you will find on JoeWindsurfer blog. One day, I would like to build on his explanation to first understand well, and then explain the effects of tuning.

This might be somewhat of a threadjack and I apologize for that but I had a surprising result when I put my new 7.5 Cheetah on my rrd LongRider (350/70) a couple of weeks ago which is the redheaded stepchild of the Kona One from what I've read. I got the 7.5 specifically for low wind/long board days. The specs on the website say 7.5 is at the top of its range for this board (2009-2010? Year 13) which I didn't know let alone think about. Hell, I thought I could put a 10.0 on this board with no worries. Anyway, got it out and powered up and as soon as I raked the sail back and got my foot in the back strap and pressured the fin I rounded up and everything got all funky. The straps are one setting from being all the way out. I was totally caught off guard since I've had a blast with this board/fin (stock MFC 34) with a 6.5. At first I thought it was the daggerboard slipping down and creating havoc so I took it out. Come to find out that was the base was too far back. I ended up moving it all the way up I could and still could have used another 2 inches or so to get balanced. It was doable but disappointing. In hindsight I could have used less DH/OH on the sail to get the COE more forward which would have helped a lot but really, I didn't think it would be so critical for such a big board. So why is it these modern boards have such short mast tracks? I've seen more adjustability in some fin boxes!?
EDIT: I do realize that I need a bigger fin for this sail but it wouldn't have acted like it did had I more adjustment to move the up base up. The CEO was clearly behind the fin, not just under finned._________________The Time a Person Spends Windsurfing is not Deducted from their Lifespan...
http://www.openocean.com

not getting to the back strap is actually from having the boom too low? how is that true? not seeing is all about guessing, but most people that can't feel comfortable in the back strap and front only usually can't sheet home. as the mast is raked back, the boom lowers relative to the sailor as one moves back. if the boom is too low, mast foot pressure becomes harder to achieve. then one sheets out, and MFP leverage gets worse yet.

not getting to the back strap is actually from having the boom too low? how is that true? not seeing is all about guessing, but most people that can't feel comfortable in the back strap and front only usually can't sheet home. as the mast is raked back, the boom lowers relative to the sailor as one moves back. if the boom is too low, mast foot pressure becomes harder to achieve. then one sheets out, and MFP leverage gets worse yet.

is the boom too low or base too far forward? explore your solutions by trial and error. worx for either kona one or rrd long rider. these boards force folks to find easy. once applied, they are really fun.

jingebritsen
I'm not sure if your reply was directed at me as much as it was Sailboarder because of the boom reference but yes a higher boom would have helped now that I think about it. I'm sure coachg will tell me the same next time I see him. Probably should have run that one but him to begin with. Sure is nice to have a great source of knowledge here AND in person! But still wondering why a bigger board would have such a limited amount of adjustment._________________The Time a Person Spends Windsurfing is not Deducted from their Lifespan...
http://www.openocean.com

Guys, this comes from my own racing experience on the Kona One, also confirmed by Joachim Larsson of Kona One AB, the brand owner.

If the nose is riding high and all else is in tune, lower the boom. As well, a sliding harness hook actually makes finding that fore-aft balance a lot easier.

Finally, not to pimp the brand too much, but the Kona racing harness is designed for longboard racing and long harness lines. The pull from the harness lines follows a line right down to the bottom of your hips. Most racing harnesses don't do this and direct the power more to the rear and upper hips. In found the Kona harness work a lot better than any other harness I own for Kona racing._________________Support Your Sport. Join US Windsurfing!
www.USWindsurfing.org

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forumYou can attach files in this forumYou can download files in this forum